Chapter 7 Key terms

Question 1

wetland

Answer 1

an area of land that is periodically underwater or whose soil contains a great deal of moisture

Question 2

plankton

Answer 2

the mass of mostly microscopic organisms that float or drift freely in the waters of aquatic fresh water and marine environments

Question 3

nekton

Answer 3

all organisms that swim actively in open water independent of currents

Question 4

benthos

Answer 4

an organism that lives at the bottom of oceans or bodies of freshwater

Question 5

littoral zone

Answer 5

a shallow zone in a freshwater habitat where light reaches the bottom and nurtures

Question 6

benthic zone

Answer 6

the bottom region of oceans and bodies of freshwater

Question 7

eutrophication

Answer 7

an increase in the number of nutrients such as nitrates in marine or aquatic ecosystem

Question 8

estuary

Answer 8

an area where freshwater from rivers mixes with saltwater from the ocean the part of a river where the tides meet the river current

Question 9

salt marsh

Answer 9

a maritime habitat characterized by grasses sedges and other plants that have adapted to continual periodic flooding salt marches are found primarily throughout the temperate and subarctic

Question 10

mangrove

Answer 10

a tropical or subtropical marine swamp that is characterized by the abundance of low to tall trees especially mangrove trees

Question 11

barrier island

Answer 11

a long ridge of sand or narrow island that lies parallel to the shore

Question 12

coral reef

Answer 12

a limestone ridge found in tropical climates and composed of coral fragments that are deposited around organic remains